


Tea Time

by afteriwake



Series: In So Few Words [63]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crushes, F/M, Molly Wants Answers, Mycroft Has a Goldfish, Mycroft Holmes Has Feelings, POV Molly Hooper, Post-Episode: s02e01 A Scandal in Belgravia, Pre-Relationship, Routine, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-22 02:23:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11957736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: Molly wonders why Mycroft comes for her tea break at Barts so often. Today, she's going to find out.





	Tea Time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stbartsmolly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stbartsmolly/gifts), [Wetislandinthenorthatlantic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wetislandinthenorthatlantic/gifts).



> So this was a prompt I had given **Wetislandinthenorthatlantic** (" _Post-ASiB. Mycroft has taken to dropping by Barts on a more regular basis, timing them for the times when Sherlock is not around, to 'check up' on things. And Molly has started to notice they all fall around the time she usually takes her tea break, and he always joins her for a cup. She wonders why._ ") that I decided to answer myself as well, and a while back it was claimed by **stbartsmolly** for me to write for them. I did, as an entry for Day 5 of Molly Hooper Appreciation Week (" _The Wrong Trouser Of Time_ ")

Tea break. On the dot, almost every third day, _he_ would be there, having some inconsequential reason for being there. Usually, something involving his brother. And then, instead of going to the canteen for tea, he would offer to take her somewhere better.

Or other times, he would bring tea to her. Not just black tea, the really _good_ black tea, but also herbal tea or green tea with fragrant flowers. She’d enjoy those visits just as much.

Actually, she was enjoying every visit she had with Mycroft Holmes, though she wasn’t sure _why_ , exactly.

Mycroft was very different than Sherlock, in so many ways. Sherlock was beautiful but aloof. Mycroft wasn’t conventionally attractive but he was striking, and even though she had always wondered why he was called “The Ice Man” he was warm and friendly with her. Genuinely seemed to care about what she talked about, care about the things that interested her. Which was rather unlike Sherlock and very appealing.

Maybe that was it. Maybe it was the interest. Since Jim had turned out to be James Moriarty, she’d found there to be a rather annoying trend on men acting a bit interested and then abruptly changing their tune. She’d thought it was Sherlock’s doing, his way of keeping her safe, and while she appreciated it she also was quite annoyed. _She_ should have the final say in who she dated or snogged or shagged, not _Sherlock_!

Though now she wondered if it was the _other_ Holmes brother she should be looking at. Ever since the autopsy of the woman said to be Irene Adler, when Mycroft had come back after Sherlock went home, he’d made it a point to check up on her. Could his interest be genuine? Could he actually _fancy_ her?

He was a Holmes, so really, she had no idea what went on his head half the time, just like his brother.

So today, she was going to take the direct approach. She bought some good lapsang souchong, paying more for it than she did her normal teas, and brought a tea set to work. That had raised some eyebrows but really, it had its purpose. The china set had been a gift from an aunt for “making her house a home,” ostensibly with a husband and children included, so it made sense that she use the set to find out if a certain man who dropped in for tea wanted more than just friendship. And before his normal visit time, she set about making the fragrant tea in the electric kettle in her office before transferring it to the tea pot.

And then she waited.

At the appointed time she heard the morgue doors open. After a moment there was a soft knock on the office door and she felt her heart rate increase for a moment until he spoke. “Dr. Hooper?”

“I...have tea ready,” she said. The door opened and he gave her a curious look as he stepped inside. “Would you like some tea, Mycroft?”

“I would, Dr. Hooper.”

She smiled and reached for the pot. “Please, call me Molly.”

“Alright...Molly,” he said with a nod, seemingly starting to relax. Her smile grew brighter and she had hope that, possibly, there may be some changes in their relationship after today’s tea break.


End file.
